Newly Released: The Mac Studio

Photo by Engadget

Android vs. iPhone. Mac vs. PC. We’ve all heard the – sometimes animated – debates from people on both sides, and both sides have valid points for their personal stance. Ultimately though, it comes down to personal preference from a functionality and capabilities standpoint. 

For those that fall on the Apple (or in this case Mac) side of things, the excitement is real for the newly released Mac Studio. Apple’s latest desktop “packs outrageous performance, extensive connectivity, and new capabilities into an extremely compact form…”, according to the company’s website. 

This is great news for creators who have long relied on Mac products for all of their creative needs, as well as those just needing a high-performance desktop that they can rely on for short-term projects or long-term daily use. 

The good news is, film companies, FX editing studios, experiential marketing firms, and other creative teams needing access to these powerful machines – but not looking to make a huge long-term investment – can turn to eTech to rent Mac Studios. We have bulk inventory to furnish your team’s needs, and the devices are compact enough to ship to satellite office locations, but still pack a huge punch with the graphics software. 

Still not convinced? Let’s take a deeper dive look into the exciting new Mac Studio, including the specs, processing and performance, ports (THEY ARE BACK!), and look at some reviews. 

Let’s see the specs: 

M1 Ultra vs M1 Max

M1 Max Specs:

  • 10 core CPU
  • Up to 32 core GPU
  • Up to 64GB unified memory
  • 400GB/s memory bandwidth

M1 Max Specs:

  • Up to 64GB unified memory
  • 400GB/s memory bandwidth

Both of these options are great, it just depends on your individual needs. However, for those looking for the best money can buy, Apple says the M1 Ultra is “the most powerful chip in a personal computer ever”.

Processing and Performance

The Mac Studio starts with the M1 Max chip with a 10-core CPU, 24-core GPU, and 16-core Neural Engine, 32GB of unified memory, and 512GB of SSD storage, but it can have the M1 Ultra chip with 20-core CPU, 48-core GPU, 32-core Neural Engine, 128GB of RAM, and up to 8TB of SSD.

What Apples says this means:

Apple says that the Mac Studio is:

  • Up to 3.8x faster CPU performance than the fastest 27-inch iMac with 10-core processor.
  • Up to 90 percent faster CPU performance than Mac Pro with 16-core Xeon processor.
  • Up to 60 percent faster CPU performance than 28-core Mac Pro.
  • Up to 4.5x faster graphics performance than the 27-inch iMac, and up to 80 percent faster than the fastest Mac graphics card available today.
  • Up to 12x faster than the 27-inch iMac, and up to 5.6x faster than 28-core Mac Pro when transcoding video.

Infographic with the Mac Studio specs

Ports

Great news! The PORTS are back (much rejoicing to be had.)

If there is anything that Mac users had to complain about in the last few years, it’s the lack of ports – specifically no USB-A ports on a lot of the MacBook models and the 2021 iMac desktop. 

Apparently, Apple listened to the gripes of their most loyal fans and decided that the Mac Studio would address these issues. 

From Apple’s website, “Mac Studio lets you create the studio of your dreams with an array of 12 high-performance ports, located front and back for convenient access. Easily connect — and disconnect — your camera, external storage, and other devices from the front. See the bigger picture by plugging in up to four Pro Display XDRs and one 4K TV. There’s also a headphone jack with advanced support for high-impedance headphones or line out for amplified speakers.”

And YES, not just one, but two USB-A ports. Crisis averted.

Mac Studio ports

How do people like it?

After surveying multiple technology review sites, the consensus seems to be that the Mac Studio is a very powerful, high-performance computer in a compact size. 

Creativebloq.com gave the Mac Studio a 4.5/5 star review. The reviewer said, “The Mac Studio is one of the best creative workstation you can buy right now, especially if you’re after high performance in a small form factor. It makes light work of even the most intense projects, from editing ultra-high definition videos in Final Cut Pro, to work with multi-tracked audio projects in Logic Pro.” 

One of the only negatives that was listed on the review was the price, and that concern is alleviated by choosing to rent from eTech. 

Cnet.com also had positive things to say about the Mac Studio, admiring it’s ability to keep up with creative’s needs. The reviewer states, “The Mac Studio would have been ideal for me. It’s $1,500 less than the 16-inch MacBook Pro. It’s small enough that I could travel with it and plug it into a ton of displays, TVs, and even cameras. But most importantly, the Mac Studio would have meant that I didn’t need to ‘design a computer’ for my workflows.” 

And finally, PCMag gave the computer 4 out of 5 stars. With a bottom line of “Apple’s Mac Studio is a gorgeous, powerful compact desktop for content-crunching professionals…”.

mac studio desktop setup
Source — Apple.com

In Conclusion

Apple clearly had creative teams in mind when designing the powerful Mac Studio. It’s an easily portable, yet very high-performing computer. It has wonderful speed and can handle demanding high-definition editing with multiple apps running. 

Whatever your need, renting a Mac Studio can be a cost-effective, time-saving option that allows you to experience the power of Mac Studio without the hassle of maintaining it. Our experts are here to help you determine the ideal computer rental for you.

Stay tuned for more articles on the Mac Studio and our favorite uses!


About eTech Rentals

eTech Rentals is a national technology solutions provider located in Southern California specializing in rental technology integration. eTech is committed to long-standing client relationships and consistent, reliable local service, trusted by expert event planners, film and entertainment production companies, and businesses in California and nationwide.

Learn more about eTech Rentals at: https://etechrentals.com/